Chris introduced the show, "Last time on Total Drama Fortress, our explorers had to work together to locate the key, which worked well for some, and for others it seemed like a fate worse than death. Nonetheless, they all felt the need to work to avoid being replaced by the interns—man, those interns feel so disappointed now—except for one. But she got to stay because someone else got mad, and had to leave the game for the second time. Wow, what could have invoked such a dramatic response? It certainly wasn't me." He whistled for a brief moment, then continued, "Now there are only eight contestants remaining. Who will have to leave today? Find out on Total. Drama. FORTRESS!"

Gwen, who no longer had a bat on her shoulder, was offered the chance to open the door, but she refused. "I don't think so," she said. She handed the key to Harold. Harold shrugged, and then opened the door. All of the final eight walked into the room.

DJ still had his bat with him, and asked her, "What's that Myrtle? You think we have a good chance?" Then he turned to Gwen, and asked her, "What happened to your bat pal?"

"Honestly?" Gwen asked, "I don't know. I think he lost interest after I fell asleep last night."

"That's strange," DJ said, "Myrtle still likes me."

"Good day explorers!" Chris shouted, "Welcome to the challenge. The key is in a room all the way on the other side of the layer. As you can see, there are four paths to take. I will assign each of you a partner. Gwen and Izzy, since you're the only girls left, you get to take the easy path."

"Alright," Gwen said. "That means we don't have to work too hard."

"Aw man!" Izzy shouted.

(In the confessional, Izzy said, "Do you think I should have petitioned for a harder pathway? I think I should have.")

"Tyler and Noah… you guys get the second easiest path because you're roughly the same skill level," Chris said, laughing, when he noticed Tyler's mortified face.

"Don't let him get to you," Noah said to Tyler, "You're at least 30th percentile."

"Thanks," Tyler said, "I know."

(In the confessional, Tyler asked, "Umm, 30th percentile is good, right? …Right?")

"Now, Cody, you get to go with Harold," Chris said, "And you guys get the second hardest path because I think you can handle it."

"Oh, yes we can!" Cody said.

"We won't let you down, Chris," Harold added. "Now let's go."

"So that leaves the hardest path to DJ and Owen," Chris said. "But don't worry, you guys are big enough to take it… or are you?"

"We are," Owen answered happily.

"I think," DJ said completely unsurely.

(In the confessional, DJ said, with Myrtle on his shoulder, "Okay, yeah, I know, I'm big and strong, so I should be brave, but I'm not. There's a reason I wasn't put on the Valiant Braves, after all." DJ gulped. "I just hope that the hardest path doesn't mean the scariest path. Don't you, Myrtle")

"Are you ready, explorers?" Chris asked, as Gwen and Izzy took their position on the northwest corner of the room, Tyler and Noah on the northeast, Cody and Harold on the southwest, and DJ and Owen on the southeast. "Go!"

"Catch me if you can, lady of the night!" Izzy shouted as she quickly sprinted ahead of Gwen.

"Izzy…" Gwen muttered, looking completely helpless at the actions of the redhead. Then she shrugged and ran after her screaming, "You can't stay away forever, Izzy!"

"Oh, yes I can!" Izzy shouted, picking up the pace, and running at a ridiculous speed.

(In the confessional, Gwen said, "When in Rome…")

"Noah, don't worry," Tyler said, "I'll protect you from any of the hazards. Because I'm amazing at sports. Not terrible at them."

"Tyler, you don't have to sell yourself to me," Noah said, "I wasn't the one who compared your skills to mine in the first place."

"I know," Tyler said, "I just want you to know that you don't have to be scared, because I'll protect you!"

"Okay, I'll let you know if I suddenly become a damsel in distress," Noah said, brushing off Tyler.

(In the confessional, Tyler said, "Okay, maybe it was a little insulting to his masculinity, but someone so advent-ly… I think that's the word… against sports probably doesn't care as much as I do.")

"Harold," Cody said, looking scared, "What do you think it is about this path that makes it the second hardest?"

"Well, remember that snake in the last challenge? Chris said it was supposed to be here instead," Harold answered.

"So this path contains a snake?" Cody asked, and then he walked onto something soft that made a sound when he stood on it. Cody looked down to see a snake under his shoe. "Uh-oh," Cody said, stepping off the snake, very carefully.

"Oh, no," Harold said, "I think you made him mad…"

"You think? You think?" Cody asked. "We have to get out of here!"

The snake began to follow Cody and Harold, looking very clearly at Cody's ankle. The snake bit Cody.

"Oh, ow!" Cody shouted.

"Cody!" Harold shouted, and then grabbed the snake and tied it into an intricate knot. "That'll teach you to bite my friends."

"Do you think I need to get this looked at?" Cody asked.

"Definitely," Harold said. "Go on, go back. I'll wait for you."

"But what if you lose because of me?" Cody asked.

"I won't," Harold said. "Trust me."

(In the confessional, Harold said, "If previous experience has taught me anything, and it has, patiently waiting and looking for those who are lost is much more strategically sound than pretending they don't exist.")

"Umm, I'm not sure," DJ said.

"Don't worry, DJ," Owen said, "It'll be really easy if you stick with me."

"I know that's the plan," DJ said, "I just don't know if it will work."

"Of course it will work," Owen said, "If it helps, I could hold your hand."

"Well," DJ said, "I guess that might help… but…"

"But what?" Owen asked, "I guess holding my hand might make you feel uncomfortable…"

"It's okay, Owen," DJ said, smiling, "You can still stand by my side."

"And I will, DJ," Owen said kindly.

(In the confessional, Owen said, "DJ's like the nicest guy ever. If I could even come close to being as nice as DJ, oh, my life would be so much better!")

"Awesome!" Izzy shouted, although she was so far ahead of Gwen that she was out of sight and barely audible.

Gwen followed her to a location where Izzy was talking to a snake. The snake seemingly understood what she had to say and slithered out of her way. "Umm, Izzy? Did you just talk to a snake?"

"Yeah," Izzy said, "Of course. He was in our way."

"Izzy, just out of curiosity, how many kinds of animals can you talk to?" Gwen asked.

"Umm… ninety. Unless you count humans. Then, ninety-one," Izzy responded.

"That's… that's pretty impressive," Gwen said.

"I know, isn't it?" Izzy asked. "Now come on, Gwen, we have to own this thing."

(In the confessional, Gwen noticed, "Izzy's pretty awesome when you think about it. How come I never noticed before?")

"Noah," Tyler said, "Don't look now, but there are a half a dozen snakes approaching you…"

"A half a dozen?" Noah asked, "Tyler, there are seven snakes right there. That's more than half a dozen."

"Well, math isn't my forte," Tyler defended himself.

"Math, literature, theoretical science, social science, history—although that one can be very boring… it's all cake to me," Noah said. "But what I suck at is defending myself."

"Don't worry," Tyler said, "I promised I'd protect you, and I will." He got a fierce face, and then attempted to attack the snakes. He tripped and ended up riding the snakes as if they were a mosh pit.

Noah looked down at him and said in complete monotone, "Oh, my hero."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Tyler said, "Just help me get up."

"Yes," Noah responded, grabbing onto Tyler's hand, and straining to pull him up.

Noah and Tyler both looked freaked out by the snakes.

Tyler looked helplessly to Noah. "Okay, Mr. Academic, what do we do now?"

"Well," Noah said, looking at the snakes, "If we are careful, we should be able to walk by the snakes without stepping on them."

"Okay," Tyler responded.

(In the confessional, Tyler said, "The people on my teams always said the nerds were losers. But all of the nerds I know are really awesome. So I don't know what they were talking about.")

"Chris?" Cody asked. "I got bitten by a snake."

"And why is this my problem?" Chris asked.

"Because I think that I might be in danger," Cody said.

"And?" Chris asked.

"It could kill me, you know," Cody said. Chris looked at him blankly. "And then you'd get sued?"

"True," Chris said, and then he sighed. He called over Chef Hatchet, who wore a very unflattering nurse uniform. "Take a look at Cody for me."

"Okay," Chef Hatchet responded.

"It's on my ankle," Cody said, lifting his pant leg and lowering his sock so the injury would not be obscured.

Chef Hatchet looked at it. "Yep, that's a snake bite alright," he said.

Cody shouted impatiently, "I know that! Is it serious?"

"Uh," Chef Hatchet said, "I don't know."

"Yeah, what do we look like, MDs?" Chris asked.

"Whatever," Cody said, "If it was serious you'd probably notice."

(In the confessional, Cody was frantically looking through a book that had a visible title reading Dangerous Animals and What Can Be Done About Their Attacks. He eventually got to a page that caused him to sigh in relief. Then, in less than three seconds he shouted, "Okay, turn off the camera.")

"What does Myrtle think we should do?" Owen asked.

"I don't know," DJ said, "She's been awfully quiet."

"Well, yeah," Owen said, "Because she's sleeping."

"I know," DJ said, "Isn't she adorable when she's sleeping?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Owen responded. Owen and DJ continued to walk through the hallway. Suddenly, Myrtle woke up and shrieked.

"What is it, Myrtle?" DJ asked, "Danger alert?"

"Danger!" Owen shouted, "Uh-oh."

There were twenty snakes. "T-T-Twenty s-s-snakes?" DJ shouted, alarmed.

"It's okay, DJ," Owen said, "We'll get through this. Remember, happy thoughts."

"Twenty? That's too many!" DJ shouted. "We won't get through this!"

"Yes we will," Owen said, attempting to calm DJ down. It might have worked if not for the three snakes nonchalantly crawling up Owen's back and over his shoulder, while he was apparently oblivious to them.

"No we won't!" DJ exclaimed and then he ran away.

"No, DJ! Wait, come back!" Owen shouted.

(In the confessional, Owen said, "DJ has never been voted off. Ever. If he freaks out and runs in the middle of this challenge, that will most likely be how he leaves. And I'm not ready for DJ to leave yet. He's awesome!")

"So many snakes it would take a thousand rakes to contain the snakes!" DJ shouted in the fetal position.

"DJ," Chris said, "You have to go back and face those snakes or else you can't get to the key."

"No… No, Chris," DJ said, "I've made up my mind; I'm quite done with those slithering things."

"Okay, suit yourself," Chris responded. "But you know that if you don't go back you'll…"

"Whatever, I'll risk it," DJ said. "Too many snakes…"

Meanwhile, Cody was returning to Harold, who had since been covered by ten snakes. "Hello, Cody," Harold said, "A little help here? The snakes decided to avenge their friend." Cody looked terrified, but decided to help pull each of the snakes off of his friend.

"Come on, Harold," Cody said, "You snooze you lose! You don't want to lose to the girls and our unappreciated friends, do you?"

"No," Harold shouted, "Let's go!"

(In the confessional, Cody said, "I'd never been feeling so in charge before. It was kind of nice. This was the first time I made it to the merge without any sort of codependency, so it was nice.")

"Now, because our path is allegedly the second easiest, there shouldn't be very many snakes on it, so we probably ran into most of them," Noah said, "Come on, Tyler. The key is close to us." Tyler sat down. "Oh, come on, Tyler! What's wrong? You're not still moping about what Chris said, are you?"

"No," Tyler said, "I'm moping about what you said."

"What I said?" Noah asked, "What do you mean? What-what did I say?"

"You said that I was your hero sarcastically," Tyler responded.

"Yeah? And?" Noah asked, "You should know this already."

"Look, I know you were just teasing and weren't trying to hurt my feelings, but… it was… you know, it made me feel less manly," Tyler answered.

"Tyler, you should never let a man you outweigh due to muscles make you feel less manly," Noah responded. "It's like an unwritten rule. Look, yes, you failed at protecting me. But you tried. And isn't that what really matters?"

"Noah, do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound trying to give a pep talk?" Tyler asked, laughing.

"Yeah, I do," Noah said, "But I thought it was the only way to get you to get up. You sportos love pep talks, right?"

"You know nothing about sports," Tyler said, laughing harder.

"And I'm fine with that," Noah said, "To each his own."

Noah and Tyler agreed to go try to complete the race.

Gwen and Izzy were way ahead of them, however. Izzy sniffed the air, and then she said, "I think the key is nearby!"

"You can tell that from smell?" Gwen asked.

"Well yeah, because the key is made of iron, it smells like fresh blood!" Gwen looked terrified. "Oh, relax, Gwen, you act as if you've seen a ghost. Of course, I see ghosts all the time. Like the one that told me to go blow up a building… I told him, 'No way, Jose! I like to buy stuff at that store!' And he was all, 'Okay, but my name is Carlos.'"

"Okay…" Gwen said, "Now Izzy, tell me more about the fresh blood thing."

"Well, you know, Gwen," Izzy said, "Fresh blood is made of iron too. At least a lot of it is."

"Okay," Gwen responded, "So you smell the key from here. So that means it's close. Well, what are you waiting for, Izzy? Go get it!"

"Okay," Izzy said, and then she looked into the room. She gasped. "No! Noah and Tyler are on our trail! I can hear them talking from the hallway. We have to hurry."

"Alright, Izzy," Gwen said, "We better."

Izzy grabbed Gwen's wrist and ran into the room, where she spotted the key. "Aha!" Izzy shouted, "Perfect! I'll grab it!"

"Noooooooo!" Tyler shouted from down the hall. He lunged into the room and knocked Izzy down grabbing the key for himself. When it worked, Noah looked satisfied and patted himself on the back.

"Dang," Izzy said. "I want a rematch!" she shouted.

"It's okay, Izzy," Gwen said, "Let him have this one. He's Tyler."

"Congratulations, Tyler!" Chris shouted, "You win!"

"I… I win? I win!" Tyler shouted. "Yes! Immunity here I come!"

(In the confessional, Tyler said, "Second banana team every season I played? Never made it to the merge except for this time because of a return? Well now I won a game all by myself! Take that, coach who kicked me off the team! Take that, Myron! Yeah, I'm talking to you, Mr. Tyler-You-Suck-And-Should-Never-Play-Sports-Sayer!")

"Are we late?" Harold asked, "Sorry, we kind of got held up due to a snake bite."

"Are you okay, Cody?" Gwen asked.

Cody asked. "How did you know it was me who got bitten?"

Gwen bit her lip trying to stifle a laugh. She responded, "Just a stab in the dark."

"Well, I'm happy to report that I'm feeling okay," Cody said.

"Anyway," Chris asked, "Where were we?"

"Oh, you were just about to give me immunity!" Tyler said, "Because I won!"

"Oh, right, that. Well, you would get immunity if we didn't already know who to get rid of…" Chris responded.

"What?" Owen asked, tearfully, coming into the room. "No! You don't mean…"

"Yes," Chris said, "Unfortunately, so. I tried to warn him that it would lead to instant elimination, but he didn't listen to me. Now, we should humor him and go back to the other room, because as we all know, he couldn't face the snakes."

"Wow, Chris, you sounded so human when you said that, I almost forgot you weren't!" Noah said.

"Thank you Noah," Chris responded, and then he pushed him over.

"Worth it…" Noah said, after seeing every single other competitor cringe at his expense.

"Now come on, explorers," Chris said, "Let's go say goodbye to DJ."

"No, no, no, no, no," Owen said, "You can't let DJ go today! I beg you! Let me go instead!"

"I'm sorry, Owen," Chris said, "But I can't do that."

"You can sometimes!" Owen responded.

"But not today," Chris responded. Owen looked helpless.

(In the confessional, Owen said, "You've gotta give me credit for trying, guys! One of these days he's going to let me. Maybe if I work on a heartfelt abdication speech… yeah; I'll do that. I'm going to need someone to help me write it though.")

DJ was sitting helplessly. The other seven each walked by him.

"DJ, I don't know you very well, but you seem like an upstanding guy, whose politeness is not a guise but a genuine attribute. And I'm a great judge of character." Noah said, "I'm sorry to see you go."

"You," Harold said, crying, "You were always the one to take the high ground in your posse… I respect you for that. And you and I became friends too."

"DJ, you were always awesome," Gwen said, "You never got involved in those stupid conflicts that those catty girls always started which means you're stronger than I am."

"DJ, DJ, DJ! If only I could ever be as nice as you," Owen said, "You deserved to win the first season; not me."

"Oh… oh, I can't think of anything to say, but… I'll miss you, big guy!" Tyler said, shaking DJ's hand.

"Oh, DJ!" Cody shouted, wrapping his arms around the larger man suddenly, causing him to flinch slightly, and then hug back.

"Goodbye, DJ!" Izzy shouted, waving. "We will always miss you! Even when we forget your name isn't PJ."

"Thanks, guys," DJ said, "I'll miss all of you too! Now, I have to go! Good luck to every last one of you. You're all awesome in your own special ways!"

DJ waved and then walked away. Myrtle still clung to his shoulder. He took her off, and then said, "Myrtle, I think we should say goodbye too. After all, you belong here, in Chris's fortress. This is your home." Myrtle put her left wing over her face, and appeared to be crying. "I know; I'll miss you too."

"Yep," Harold said, "There goes one man who could never lose a poll."

"Now that DJ is gone, what will our final seven have as a voice of reason? Will Owen quit? Will I let Owen quit? Hmm… Anyway, what will become of these friendships that developed during this race? Will they turn into alliances that break up current friendships? Oh, I can feel the drama happening already. Find out what might go down, next time on Total. Drama. FORTRESS!"